The Great Fence Project

I survived, in spite of the expense - I still have problems writing checks that size.

They did an excellent job. Which was a relief - 'once burned, twice shy' takes on a whole new meaning when it applies to contractors.

Here is the view from the porch. Strong corners and a four panel wooden fence in the front. There will be no more retrieving stray horses in the pre-dawn hours. (Knock on wood.)

We have a hot (electrified) top wire to keep the horses from pushing down the fence or chewing the board fence in front. The wire mesh fence is stretched as tight as piano wire. I'll bet Emma could play guitar on it.

They used a tractor with some kind of hammer attachment to install the fence posts. The ground is soft, so it took only a couple of hammer blows to drive each 8 foot pole 3 feet into the ground. They re-hung the gates on end supports. I doubt the gates will sag in my lifetime.

The view from the porch has changed, and I'm happy to see it. Spring is the most beautiful season. I even love dandelions.

One thing I've missed this year is the vetch flowering. Usually, the rolling fields are painted a lovely red-violet by crown vetch. I can't describe the beauty of it - hundreds of acres of purple rolling hills. It's enough to have me singing 'God Bless America' every time I drive by a field of it. This year there wasn't any. I suppose that all the spraying they do now has killed the vetch.

What a shame.